Preparing for a long trip

[mrbreeze]

With any luck, I will be leaving July 2 for Maine, maybe even Canada. I will be riding my 2001 R11RL. There will be a few other guys going, and all of them will be riding Electra Glides. My bike has about 11,900 miles on it, and good tires. I am taking it in for the 12,000 mile service this week. I sure do not want to have any problems with it on this long trip, and I sure don't want to take any ribbing from the Harley boys.

What else do I need to do to prepare my bike? How long do brake pads last on these bikes? Should I tell the dealer to go ahead and replace them? I think the tires will make the trip, and I had them flush the hydraulics when I bought the bike last fall. It had 3900 miles on it then.

Any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[brainfish]

Your dealer will be doing the service, he should and will tell what needs to be done and what may be needed in the short time future.
Ride, your bike is not even broken in yet.
brian

[PAULBACH]

Check out this website. (http://micapeak.com/checklists/mclist.html)

That way you will be well prepared to get underway. As hot weather settles in be sure to drink sufficient water along the way. Beer is mostly water but avoid it until the end of the day.

Take pictures and please share a ride report with us. http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g264/PaulBach/Smilies/camera.gif

[bikerfish1100]

brake pad life is a very individual thing. i replaced my first set of front pads at 20K, and still have plenty life on the 2nd set (aftermarket) at 68K. (bought bike used with 4K on it) My dealer replaced my rear pads at 20K without my asking for it to be done (he ended up only charging labor on it, as i had a new set at home waiting to go on, and the tech never asked if i wanted them replaced- he said they would not last until the next 6K inspection and swapped them anyway). Those are OEM, and are still good too.
i like engine braking :p

[alien_hitchhiker]

Touring with friends on Electra Glides?

You'll probably want to take a pair of these:

(p.s. - sounds like a great trip !!!)

[John Brase]

Take a quart of oil along. With that few miles your bike is probably still using a little oil. Don't overfill it, just make sure you can see some oil in the sight glass.

John

[2BikeMike]

Brake pads are alot like underwear, some guys can get a lot of miles out of 'em and some guys don't.:D

[SheRidesABeemer]

Don't make any mods right before you leave. (aside of routing maint.)
Bring your own atlas in case you change you mind about riding with your buds. :p

[mrbreeze]

Thanks for the great responses. I will definitely bring plenty of earplugs! I am not sure how all this will work out. We will be leaving from Columbia, TN going to Gorham, ME. One of the guys has a son that lives there. His wife is flying up to meet him. Another guy is also flying his wife up. I don't really want to be handcuffed to the wives and son and his family, so I may take off on my own for a few days. Also one of them has to be back to work on Thursday, July 10 but I have all that week off, so I may linger in New England an extra day or two, or I may ride back with them and then spend a day or two in the Smokies before I go home.

At any rate, I am excited about it. I will take the bike to the shop this week, and as soon as I get it back I will start taking inventory of the stuff I want to take with me and figuring out how to get it all loaded. Woo Hoo!